Automatic page turner

ABSTRACT

A plurality of vertically disposed resilient wire rods are pivotally mounted in bushings which are spaced along the ends of the rods and secured on a base plate. Each rod pivots about a separate vertical axis through the bushings and is spring biased toward one side of the base plate. The opposite ends of each rod are bent to extend horizontally, with each horizontal extension being spaced apart vertically to avoid interference with the other rods. A pair of vertically extending clear flexible plastic strips are secured between the ends of the opposite horizontal extensions of each rod. The plastic strips of each pair are positioned one above the other to engage the front and back faces of a page of a book or a sheet of music which is inserted between the strips. The outer cover or pages are held in place against the base plate by clamps. In the latched position, the rods are pivoted to the right side of the base plate with each upper horizontal extension engaging a corresponding individual slot in a vertically disposed latching bracket. A lever release mechanism operates a vertical control rod having a pawl at the end which engages the teeth of a slideable rack. The rack is moved upwardly against the horizontal wire rod extensions which are pushed out of the slots to permit the spring biased vertical rods to pivot back to the left with the pages carried between the plastics strips. Each movement of the lever causes the pawl to move the rack upwardly another notch against the next horizontal rod extension to successively release all of the rods and turn the pages from right to left back into the normal position.

Bombardi 3,732,773 May 15, 1973 [54] AUTOMATIC PAGE TURNER [76]Inventor: Aldo L. Bombardi, 202 Smull Ave,

North Caldwell, NJ. 07006 [22] Filed: Sept. 10,1971

[21] Appl. No.: 179,453

[52] U.S. Cl. ..84/491 [51] Int. Cl. ..G10g 7/00 [58] Field of Search..84/489, 491, 495, 84/497, 508-509, 511-515 [56] References CitedUNITED STATES PATENTS 445,405 l/189l Holcomb ..84/49l 3,281,974 11/1966Jensen t v ..84/495 X 1,353,582 9/1920 Gemsey ..84/5l5 895,967 8/1908Coleman ..89/49l 989,130 4/1911 Detweiler.... .....84/49l 1,209,54812/1916 Brown ..84/497 Primary ExaminerStephen J. Tomsky AssistantExaminerLawrence R. Franklin Att0rney Edward Goldberg [57] ABSTRACT Aplurality of vertically disposed resilient wire rods are pivotallymounted in bushings which are spaced along the ends of the rods andsecured on a base plate.

Each rod pivots about a separate vertical axis through the bushings andis spring biased toward one side of the base plate. The opposite ends ofeach rod are bent to extend horizontally, with each horizontal extensionbeing spaced apart vertically to avoid interference with the other rods.A pair of vertically extending clear flexible plastic strips are securedbetween the ends of the opposite horizontal extensions of each rod. Theplastic strips of each pair are positioned one above the other to engagethe front and back faces of a page of a book or a sheet of music whichis inserted between the strips. The outer cover or pages are held inplace against the base plate by clamps.

1n the latched position, the rods are pivoted to the right side of thebase plate with each upper horizontal extension engaging a correspondingindividual slot in a vertically disposed latching bracket. A leverrelease mechanism operates a vertical control rod having a pawl at theend which engages the teeth of a slideable rack. The rack is movedupwardly against the horizontal wire rod extensions which are pushed outof the slots to permit the spring biased vertical rods to pivot back tothe left with the pages carried between the plastics strips. Eachmovementof the lever causes the pawl to move the rack upwardly anothernotch against the next horizontal rod extension to successively releaseall of the rods and turn the pages from right to left back into thenormal position.

16 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures 57 Is as 22 48 0/ 2L 5 I} :54 o 4 "x 94 714 50 l 86 30 8 88 i m 9 1;, 1 1 i 111 4. 56 Emmi r I w m 74 "l ef-LL. e4

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SHEET 2 UF 4 ALDO L. BOMBARD/ BY 5 E ATTORNEY P-AIENTEU rm 1 5 ms sum 3UF 4 INVLA ro1 ALDO L. BoMaA/w/ ATTORNEY PATENIED MAY 1 5 I975 SHEET [1F4 l N VEN TOR.

. Moo L.-8 OM 8ARDI A T TOR N 151 1 AUTOMATIC PAGE TURNER BACKGROUND OFTHE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates toautomatic page turning devices and particularly to a novel mechanism forrapidly turning a plurality of pages of a book or sheet music in asimple reliable manner.

2. Description of the Prior Art Mechanical page turning devices havebeen used in the past by musicians and orchestras for turning sheetmusic. The devices permit rapid turning of pages without interruption ofthe music by use of a control lever which is actuated by a simple quickfinger or foot movement. Examples of such devices are found in U.S. Pat.No. l,l40,6l2 issued May 25,l9l5, No. 758,850 issued May 3, 1904 and No.442,009 issued Dec. 2, 1890. These devices however were often unreliableand did not securely hold the pages. Some page turners held only limitedareas which could readily slip out of place. In addition, only a fewpages could be accommodated and in many cases the devices blocked theview of the printed material.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore the primary object of thepresent invention to provide an improved automatic page turning devicewhich securely holds and reliably turns an increased number of pageswithout interfering with the printed material.

This is accomplished by a novel structure including a plurality ofvertically disposed wire rods pivotally mounted on a base plate andspring biased toward one side. A plurality of supporting bushings arespaced along the wire rods. The bushings include a corresponding numberof channels providing separate vertical axes about which the rods pivot.Each wire rod has horizontally extending portions at opposite ends whichare vertically spaced from each adjacent wire rod end. The opposite endsare connected by vertically extending pairs of thin clear flexibleplastic strips. Each pair of strips includes an upper and lower stripwhich accommodate the full length of a page or pages therebetween. Alatching bracket includes a plurality of vertically spaced slots adaptedto engage respective horizontally extending ends of the wire rods whichare pivoted and retained in a latched position at the opposite side ofthe base plate. Control means are intermittently actuated tosuccessively release each wire from each slot to permit the springbiased wire rods to return to the one side of the base plate whileturning a page carried between the plastic strips. The details of theinvention and other objects and advantages will become apparent from thefollowing description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front view of the novelpage turner show ing sheets of music on a base plate with one group ofwire rod ends and plastic strip holders in a normal released positionand another group in a latched position;

FIG. 2 is a partial front view of the device with the upper baseplateremoved to show the vertical wire rods, supporting bushings, andrelease mechanism;

FIG. 3a is a top end view showing one group of rods in a latchedposition and another group in a released position;

FIG. 3b is a top end view of a supporting bushing for the rods;

FIGS. 4a and 4b show front and top end views respectively of thelatching bracket;

FIG. 5a is a front view of the control rod, pawl, rack and rack guiderelease mechanism;

FIG. 5b is a front view of the rack guide;

FIG. 5c is a back view of the rack guide;

FIG. 6 is a top view of a lever release handle, and

FIG. 7 is a side view of a clamp mechanism.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. 1, pages of abook or sheets of music 10 are placed on an upper base plate 12, withthe back cover or pages clamped in position by a pair of spring loadedpivotal clamps 14, 15 on opposite sides of the base plate. Theindividual pages are inserted between respective pairs of thin clearflexible plastic vertical strips 16 which engage the front and backfaces of each page. Several pages may also be inserted between one pairof strips if it is desired to turn a group of pages together. Theplastic strips 16 are connected between respective opposite horizontallyextending end portions 18 of a plurality of vertically disposed roundwire rods 20, made of a suitable resilient material such as spring steelor music wire of about one-sixteenth inch diameter. The ends of eachpair of plastic strips are preferably secured to the rods by U-shapeddetachable metal clips 22 which fit around the ends of the rods and arefastened by individual rivets 24. The rivets provide a pivot for theplastic strips to permit some additional flexibility. The extendingportions 18 of the resilient wire rods are normally bent outwardly ateach end before the plastic strips and metal clips are assembled so thatthe strips are held taut with the wire rod ends in a horizontalposition. The center fold 25 of the unbound pages or sheets may also beheld in place by another spring loaded clamp 26 which pivots aboutacenter position 28. p

In FIG. 2, the upper base plate 12 is removed to show portions of thevertical wire ro'ds20 which are supported in a pair of bushings 30,32mounted along the center of the device between the upper base plate 12and a: lower base plate 34. The bushings are spaced along the length ofthe rods adjacent the top and bottom ends respectively. The bushingshave a plurality of channels 36, such as shown more clearly in the endview of FIG. 3b, with each rod being pivotable about a separateverticalaxis through a respective channel. In the illustrated example,twelve channels for twelve rods are arranged in two upper and lower rowsof six formed between three plates 38 at each end of the bushings. Apair of upper and lower plates 40 extend across plates 38 between theends of the bushings to secure the bushings between the upper and lowerbase plates 12, 34. Each of the top and bottom pair of bushings 30,32has like channels and plates but different spacing.

As shown in FIG. 2 with the upper plate 40 removed,

a plurality of helical torsion s'prings 42 are each secured around arespective wire rod in the two rows between the end plates of bushing30. Each spring is wound in two longitudinal sections 44, 46 with theouter ends 48,50 held in slots 51 in the lower plate 40. The inner endsare connected by an integral wire 52 so that the two sections form onecontinuous spring about each rod. Each wire 52 is preferably secured toa rod by a weld 54, with the spring being twisted when the rod isturned. The two rows of rods each have a like set of springs with theends of both the upper and lower rows held in slots 51 in the lowerplate 40. The ends of the upper row are somewhat longer to extend intothe same slots. The springs are wound to apply a torsion which normallybiases the rods to a released position on the left side of the baseplate. The bottom pair of bushings 32 provides further support platesand channels for the rods but does not have another set of springs. Aplurality of split metal sleeves 56 are disposed about each rod betweenthe end plates of bushing 32 to provide alignment of the rods andprevent longitudinal movement.

The central portions of base plates 12, 34 have a reduced verticaldimension to provide an open area 57 at each end in which the rodsextend and pivot. The central portions of the base plates may includeseparate center plates joining the two longer plates at opposite sidesand together form the full upper and lower base plates.

After the pages to be turned are inserted between the respective pairsof plastic strips 16 on each rod, the plurality of vertical rods 20 arepivoted from the left to the right side of the base plate with thehorizontal extending end portions 18 being inserted into respectiveoutwardly facing slots 58 in a latching bracket 60. The end portions 18are spaced apart vertically to permit each rod to engage a separatevertically spaced slot 58 the edges of which hold the rod in place untilreleased. The

latching bracket, as shown in more detail in FIGS. 3a,

4a'and 4b, includes a flat plate 62 secured to the upper area of thelower base plate 34 to the right of center. An angled portion 64 extendsoutwardly into the central open area 57 above and forwardly of the endsof the base plate and includes twelve slots to accommodate the twelverods. The slots are spaced at a predetermined distance along an anglededge of portion 64. The end portions 18 of the rods thus also extendforwardly at an angle with respect to the flat base plate so that theyare substantially perpendicular to the angled portion 64, with the slotsengaging the ends of the rods at about the mid-point of their length. Inorder for the bushings to accommodate twelve rods intwo rows and for therods to pivot about separate axes while engaging different slots, therounded transition sections 66 between the vertical and horizontal rodportions are bent and curved to avoid interference and the verticalportions are of varying lengths.

The mechanism for releasing the rods from the latching bracket 60 isshown in FIG. 2 and in further detail in FIGS. a, 5b and 5c. At thelower right side of the base plate is a first L-shaped release lever 68having a manually operable handle 70 which may be a flat round plate asshown in a top view in FIG. 6. Lever 68 pivots clockwise about point 72when handle 70 is pushed down. A nylon pin 73 may be used to provide aslide for the lever on the base plate to prevent vibration and noise. Alink 74 connects lever 68 to another lever plate 76 which pivots aboutpoint 78 in a counter clockwise direction when handle 70 is pushed downand lever68 turns clockwise. Another nylon pin 73a similar to that oflever 68 may be used in lever 76. In addition, the pivot points 72,78 ofeach lever may be mounted in nylon shims or spacers. A pin 79 mounted onlower back plate 34 is spaced at a predetermined distance from anextending arm 80 of lever 76 to act as a stop to limit the movement oflever 76 to' a desired amount. This action will be described in furtherdetail later.

A wire control rod 81 is connected at the lower end to lever plate 76and extends vertically through a long narrow channel 82 in a rack guideblock 84. At the upper end of rod 81 is a curved pawl 86 which movesabout a pin 88 in a widened upper area 90 of channel 82. The tip of pawl86 is shaped to engage the teeth 92 having a predetermined spacing alongthe vertical edge of a flat rack 94. At the upper end of rack 94 is arelease plate 96 which extends at a right angle to the plane of the baseplate and rack and outwardly at an angle toward the left side of thebase plate, as shown in the front views of FIGS. 2 and 5a or in the topview of FIG. 3a. The angle of the release plate 96 is substantiallyparallel to the angled portion 64 of latching bracket 60. Rack 94 isslideable in a wide shallow longitudinal channel 98 which connects witharea 90 of channel 82, as shown in FIG. 5b. A nylon stud or pin 100,extends through the rear wall guide block 84 to apply a predeterminedcontact pressure to the slideable rack 94 sufficient to prevent it fromsliding down due to its own weight when the pawl 86 is out of engagementwith teeth 92. This pressure is adjustable by means of a screw 102 whichtightens plate 104 and pin against the rack 94.

Downward movement of the release lever 68 and handle 70 thus pulls lever76 about its pivot point causing rod 81 to move upwardly in channel 82against the walls which guide the end. The resiliency of the rod 81 thencauses the pawl to be directed into engagement with a tooth in rack 94to push the rack upwardly a predetermined distance equal to the spacingbetween teeth. The limit pin 79 is spaced at this distance from the arm80 oflever 76 so that the control rod moves upwardly exactly the desiredamount each time. The release plate 96 at the end of the rack is thusmoved upwardly an equal distance against the lowermost horizontal wirerod 18 engaged in a slot 58 in latching bracket 60 to force the rod outof the slot. Thereupon, the rod 18 pivots about its vertical axis backtoward the left side of the base plate with a page carried between theplastic strips. Upon release of the lever 68, the action of spring 105connected between the arm 80 of lever 76 and a fixed bracket 112, causeslever 76 to return to its normal position with control rod 82 againmoving down so that pawl 86 is aligned with the next lower tooth in rack94. Pin 88 prevents the pawl from remaining in engagement with theteeth. Further pressing on the release lever 68 then causes the pawl toengage the next tooth or notch in the rack and move the release plate 96up the same fixed distance required to release the next higherhorizontal rod. The movement then continues intermittently until all ofthe rods are successively released and the pages turned from right toleft.

The various elements of the entire release mechanism are designed withthe necessary dimensional relationships to provide cooperation betweenthe upward movement of the pawl and teeth and latching bracket so thateach movement of the release lever advances the release plate the properdistance to release one wire from one slot in the latching bracket. Whenall of the rods are released and pages turned, the rack 94 is pusheddown manually into the lower position at the end of channel 98 so thatthe device is ready to be loaded with the next book or group of pages.The pin 88 again holds the pawl 86 out of engagement with the teeth 92so that the rack can be pushed down without interference.

A further bracket 106, mounted at the right hand edge of the base plate,and a yoke 108 are provided to hold and engage the end of a flexibleline which may be operated by a remote foot pedal. The yoke is connectedto link 110 supported in bracket 112 and connected at the other end tolever 68 within a slot 113. Movement of the remote pedal and line pullsyoke 108 and link 110 toward the right, thus causing lever 68 to pivotabout point 72 and initiate the same release mechanism as describedabove. The slot 113 provides some desired tolerance in the foot operatedmechanism. A second release lever and handle 114 and link 116 connectedto lever 76 may be added at the lower left side of the base plate topermit operation of the page turner device from the left side as well asfrom the right. 7

One of the clamps 14 which hold the open covers of a book or back pagesof sheets of music against base plate 12 is shown in more detail in FIG.7. A clamp plate 118 is pivotally secured to an arm 120 which is mountedon a bracket 122. The bracket is resiliently and rotatably mounted onthe base plate by a spring 124 around a post 126. An adjustable knob 128can be tightened or adjusted to change the pressure applied by thespring. The clamp can thus assume many different positions. Variousother clamp configurations may also be employed.

As previously noted, by inserting several pages between one pair ofplastic strips, a group of pages may be turned together. This permitsskipping to various selected portions of a book and provides additionalflexibility for the device so that many different sequences of'operationcan be accommodated. In addition, it is.

relatively simple to make desired changes of pages and corrections andto start the device over again. Any smaller number of the totalavailable plastic strips and rods may also be used with correspondingportions of the latching bracket and by adjusting the starting positionof the release plate. The number of pages that can be accommodated istherefore also variable.

The present invention thus provides an improved reliable automatic pageturning device. While only a single embodiment has been described andillustrated it is apparent that many variations may be made in theparticular design and configuration without departing from the scope ofthe invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An automatic page turning device comprising a base plate adapted tosupport a publication having a plurality of pages;

a plurality of vertically disposed resilient wire rods pivotally mountedon a central area of said base plate, each vertical wire rod havingopposite horizontally extending end portions and being spring biasedtoward one side of-said base plate, each horizontal end of each rodbeing vertically spaced from each adjacent wire rod end;

a plurality of separate wire rod support means spaced vertically alongsaid wire rods on said base plate, each wire rod'being pivotable about aseparate vertical axis through said support means;

a plurality of vertically extending thin flexible page holding strips ofnarrow width spaced from the vertical portions of said rods and beingconnected respectively between said opposite horizontally extending endportions of each respective wire rod and accommodating the full lengthof a page between said ends;

latching means having a plurality of vertically spaced slots thereineach adapted to engage a respective one of said horizontally extendingend portions in a pivoted position to retain said wire rods on theopposite side of said base plate; and

control means for successively releasing each wire rod from engagementin said slots to permit said spring biased wire rods to return to saidone side.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said page holding strips comprise pairsof clear plastic strips, each said pair being adapted to receive a pagetherebetween.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein said wire rod support means includes aplurality of bushings and a plurality of tubular helical torsion springssecured between a pair of adjacent spaced bushings, each spring beingpositioned around and secured along a respective wire rod to bias saidrods toward said one side.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein said bushings include a plurality ofspaced channels, each channel providing a vertical axis for a respectivewire rod.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein said control means includes avertically slideable rack having an extending end adjacent said latchingmeans and a plurality of vertically spaced teeth along one edge, avertical control rod having a pawl at one end engageable with said Iteeth, and lever means intermittently actuating said control rod andpawl to successively engage respective said teeth and move said end ofsaid slideable rack against the end portions of said wire rods in saidslots to successively release said wirerods.

, 6. The device of claim 5 including upper and lower base plates, saidbushings and control means being mounted between said base plates.

7. The device of claim 6 wherein said latching means is mounted at anend of said, upper base plate and includes an angled plate extendingforwardly in said central area and having said slots to engage saidhorizontal wire rod portions, said end of said rack extending forwardlyalong a side of said angled plate.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein said lever means is manually operable.

9. The device of claim 8 including means connected to said lever meansfor remotely operating said control means.

10. The device of claim 7 wherein said control means includes a blockhaving a channel for said slideable rack and an adjacent channel forsaid control rod and pawl, said adjacent channel including means forguiding said pawl into engagement with said teeth during actuation ofsaid control rod and for preventing engagement at other times, and stopmeans to limit movement of said lever means and control rod to thespacing between said teeth and to release one horizontal wire rodportion from one said slot during each actuation of said lever means.

11. The device of claim 10 whereinthe upper central area of said upperbase plate is of a reduced length providing an open space between theopposite sides for accommodating said horizontal rod extensions, angledlatching plate and rack end.

12. The device of claim 11 wherein said bushings include a plurality ofsupport plates having two parallel page holding means.

15. The device of claim 14 including a further resilient clamping meanspivotally mounted in said central area of said upper base plate andhaving an extending wire for holding a center fold of said publication.

16. The device of claim 15 wherein said lever means includes leverspositioned at each side of said upper base plate permitting operation ofsaid lever means selectively from both sides.

1. An automatic page turning device comprising a base plate adapted tosupport a publication having a plurality of pages; a plurality ofvertically disposed resilient wire rods pivotally mounted on a centralarea of said base plate, each vertical wire rod having oppositehorizontally extending end portions and being spring biased toward oneside of said base plate, each horizontal end of each rod beingvertically spaced from each adjacent wire rod end; a plurality ofseparate wire rod support means spaced vertically along said wire rodson said base plate, each wire rod being pivotable about a separatevertical axis through said support means; a plurality of verticallyextending thin flexible page holding strips of narrow width spaced fromthe vertical portions of said rods and being connected respectivelybetween said opposite horizontally extending end portions of eachrespective wire rod and accommodating the full length of a page betweensaid ends; latching means having a plurality of vertically spaced slotstherein each adapted to engage a respective one of said horizontallyextending end portions in a pivoted position to retain said wire rods onthe opposite side of said base plate; and control means for successivelyreleasing each wire rod from engagement in said slots to permit saidspring biased wire rods to return to said one side.
 2. The device ofclaim 1 wherein said page holding strips comprise pairs of Clear plasticstrips, each said pair being adapted to receive a page therebetween. 3.The device of claim 2 wherein said wire rod support means includes aplurality of bushings and a plurality of tubular helical torsion springssecured between a pair of adjacent spaced bushings, each spring beingpositioned around and secured along a respective wire rod to bias saidrods toward said one side.
 4. The device of claim 3 wherein saidbushings include a plurality of spaced channels, each channel providinga vertical axis for a respective wire rod.
 5. The device of claim 4wherein said control means includes a vertically slideable rack havingan extending end adjacent said latching means and a plurality ofvertically spaced teeth along one edge, a vertical control rod having apawl at one end engageable with said teeth, and lever meansintermittently actuating said control rod and pawl to successivelyengage respective said teeth and move said end of said slideable rackagainst the end portions of said wire rods in said slots to successivelyrelease said wire rods.
 6. The device of claim 5 including upper andlower base plates, said bushings and control means being mounted betweensaid base plates.
 7. The device of claim 6 wherein said latching meansis mounted at an end of said upper base plate and includes an angledplate extending forwardly in said central area and having said slots toengage said horizontal wire rod portions, said end of said rackextending forwardly along a side of said angled plate.
 8. The device ofclaim 7 wherein said lever means is manually operable.
 9. The device ofclaim 8 including means connected to said lever means for remotelyoperating said control means.
 10. The device of claim 7 wherein saidcontrol means includes a block having a channel for said slideable rackand an adjacent channel for said control rod and pawl, said adjacentchannel including means for guiding said pawl into engagement with saidteeth during actuation of said control rod and for preventing engagementat other times, and stop means to limit movement of said lever means andcontrol rod to the spacing between said teeth and to release onehorizontal wire rod portion from one said slot during each actuation ofsaid lever means.
 11. The device of claim 10 wherein the upper centralarea of said upper base plate is of a reduced length providing an openspace between the opposite sides for accommodating said horizontal rodextensions, angled latching plate and rack end.
 12. The device of claim11 wherein said bushings include a plurality of support plates havingtwo parallel rows of channels therebetween accommodating two rows ofvertical wire rods.
 13. The device of claim 12 wherein an outer supportplate includes pairs of spaced slots, the ends of said springs aroundeach wire rod being slideably engageable in said slots.
 14. The deviceof claim 11 including a pair of adjustable resilient clamping meanspivotally mounted at said opposite sides of said upper base plate andhaving extending arms for holding outer portions of a publication onsaid upper base plate while inner pages engage said page holding means.15. The device of claim 14 including a further resilient clamping meanspivotally mounted in said central area of said upper base plate andhaving an extending wire for holding a center fold of said publication.16. The device of claim 15 wherein said lever means includes leverspositioned at each side of said upper base plate permitting operation ofsaid lever means selectively from both sides.